CHENNAI:Gaming and encountering terrorists online has always been Sahil Kala’s passion and interest. Now this Mumbai-based gamer is an expert in two games —DOTA 2 and Counter Strike:Global Offensive. His tryst with gaming began at a young age, “Ten years back, my friend bought a new laptop and he installed CS 1.6 in it. After tuitions, it became a routine for us to play it for some time and soon it grew on us. We formed a team of five and started playing professionally,” he says.
He also started playing DOTA 2, a video gaming involving multiple players. Speaking about the gaming world he says he has seen the scenario change and people are treating gaming as a profession rather than just a waste of time. “It will continue growing exponentially for at least the next 10 years. It is just a matter of days before more people start considering gaming as their full-time profession,” he says.
Sahil finds the gaming world competitive. He says that every day many new players enrol to play games like DOTA, and CS:GO which are free. “These games are addictive and within no time, you start thinking that you can compete professionally,” he says. There are a number of tournaments being conducted these days which is providing a platform for gamers to excel.
A lot of money is also being invested in gaming.Sahil does not follow a schedule when it comes to gaming as he believes that games are stress busters and one should play whenever they want.
Currently, he is not competing professionally. The last tournament that he participated in was conducted in MNIT College, Jaipur. His gaming idol is Dendi.
Apart from gaming, this 29-year-old is also a DJ. He loves going on long bike rides, and exploring new music. He presently works as a senior consultant in an MNC in Mumbai. “These days I don’t get much time to continue gaming, but I would love to get back to gaming professionally,” he shares.
He is in no hurry to get back to his passion as he wants to enrol for a year-long MBA course at the University of Cincinnati, USA.